Chicken Samosas

Normally, I do a year review post during the last post of the year. But this time, I will do it during the second last post of the year. The last day of the year happens to be the last Saturday of the month, so it is for the book review. Not wanting to disturb the schedule, I thought let me keep a day earlier this time. 🙂 So how was 2016 for all of you? As far as I am concerned, it happened to be a year when I did nothing much to improve myself. 🙁 The year came and the year went – that was a synopsis for me. I took off from where I ended last year, and Alhamdulillah, my mind and heart was more settled and at peace with itself this year.

This year, I witnessed the difficulty of moving from a non-veg diet to a vegan diet. I must say that was my toughest challenge. Those 5 months taught me a lot, especially about how much care a vegan, due to dietary restrictions or personal choice, has to take while eating anything at home or outside! Many asked me if I lost weight and my plain answer is a big NO. My weight stayed the same, but I lost in inches and felt lighter during the time. Even though it was tough especially being a foodie and loving milk based sweets, I managed to pull myself up those months without falling for any temptations.

But as soon as I stopped medication and came back to my normal eating habits, I immediately put on 5 kgs over and above the already excess weight I am carrying around. I am really not proud of myself on this. 🙁 I have never been skinny, in fact I have always been a little over the high mark for my weight, but what I weigh now is my highest and I am really not happy with it. Having said that, my next year will be more of making choices and taking care of myself a little more than I usually do. As woman, we always tend to ignore ourselves in the “interest” of all other beings dependent on us. HD keeps asking me, what is stopping me from losing weight and I give him a two-page essay to prove it. I somehow feel it is time for myself to be a little bit selfish, but how much I can be, needs to be seen.

Apart from the above, it has been a mad year. I don’t know where it just passed by. Alhamdulillah, this year, I met a lot of bloggers – Fami, Sadia, Mayuriji, Pari, and Farrukh during their stay in Dubai, Ria, Shireen, Anjanaji, Anita and Nisreen, apart from the little bunch I met again, Fajee, Priya, Asiyakka, Jaleelakka and even more frequently, Huma. How can I forget the little sister the foodie world has given me – Rahna (don’t forget to check out her Instagram account, you will be bowled over for sure!) I am glad to have found a bunch of well established yet humble bloggers who were so willing to meet up the enthusiastic me. Being in the UAE which is a tourist hub, it becomes easier to bump in to some of them coming this way for their vacation. I hope that all of them were as excited as I was to have met them and spent time with them, moreover find solace in the fact that all food bloggers go through the same set of problems and emotions! 😉

Otherwise if you look at the whole of the year internationally, it has been more worrying to say the least… Alhamdulillah, I feel blessed to be staying in a place where it is so safe for our kids. How much ever we say Alhamdulillah, it is not enough… Each thing that happens to the other side of the world, is a chance for us to look into our life and thank the Almighty for all the little blessings He has been giving us on a daily basis, without us even asking for it. Still, don’t we tend to take our duty towards Him lightly? 🙁

“Indeed, man, to his Lord, is ungrateful.” (Surah Al-Aadiyaat:100)

“And He is the one who gave you life; then He causes you to die and then will [again] give you life. Indeed, mankind is ungrateful.” (Surah Al-Hajj:66)

This is to remind myself as well as my readers that life is just a flow that will come to an end anytime. May Allah make it easy for us to remember Him and follow a life that does not anger Him… Aameen…

Coming to the recipe for the day, it is none other than the humble chicken samosas. Samosas are nothing but triangular shaped patties with a filling of choice. This killer of a snack is the best thing to have hot along with a cup of tea when the climate is cozy, just like how it is now. The hot favorite is always chicken, still you can fill them with beef, potatoes or even simple onion mixture. We get frozen samosa sheets abundantly but if you ask me, I am not a fan of those sheets. First of all, I find them really dry and at times they keep breaking. Maybe I am just finding an excuse since I don’t know how to shape them well! 😉 But I feel, that doing everything from scratch makes the meal more fulfilling. That is why despite being the lazy me, I went ahead and did everything from scratch… 🙂

I just tried to do a step by step to help you with the shaping. It is quite easy and tastes amazing when compared to those that you make with ready-made sheets. You can play around the proportion of the flours for the dough. I prefer a full all-purpose flour dough, though it may not be the healthiest. While clicking this batch, I tried to “air fry” them but I so didn’t like how it turned out, so I shallow fried them in oil before I ate. 😀 That explain the spots and the irregular coloring of the samosas. Somehow, I feel my air fryer is good for only french fries and fried chicken. Nothing else seems to be working out well for me… 😕

InShaAllah, one more post will come up in the form of a book review. Can’t believe that 2016 is ending already… and it has been a super fast year… 🙁 Did I repeat those words?

Add the shredded chicken, adjust the seasoning. Cook for five minutes on low flame.

Add the coriander leaves and switch off. Allow to cool completely.

For making the wrappers, combine the flours and salt. Sprinkle the oil and rub in.

Pour warm water slowly and start kneading till you have a stiff yet soft dough. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12-14 lime sized balls. Bail them out into rounds, by basting some oil.

Keep some filling in the center and shape them to make samosas (as per the above step-by-step). Set aside. Repeat till the dough and the chicken mixture is completed.

Heat enough oil to fry and fry them in batches on low flame till golden brown. Serve hot with tea!

Notes

You can use only all-purpose flour for making the wrapper. But using only wholewheat is not suggested, since it makes the samosas denser. Ensure that the dough is not sticky, or else it will drink too much oil.